Originally inhabited by the Ainu, a racially and culturally

This case is a typical noun modifier which is modifying the noun preceding.

a racially and culturally distinct people is modifying or explaining Ainu , which is a cast or a tribe (IMO)( Collective noun) thus there is no problem in using "a" here.
another example.
The army of England has a number of Gorkha soldiers.
hope this helps.

what is wrong with D?

Help Help.

mikemcgarry

I did not understand the use of 'a' in front of people. can you please explain the solution to this question?

"a" here refers to a type of sth.
Do not worry, gmat will be unlikely to test such grammar issue. Nevertheless, at the same time, such grammar issue will help to understand the context in reading, or in SC question.

I am not sure between A and D.
Other option choices do not sound find.
I think D is informal.

"a" is using for a "distinct type of people " that is why it used "a " here .

Since "a" is used in almost all choices and B is anyway wrong, A makes the most elegant one. Not the best, but better than the rest of the options.

Originally inhabited by the Ainu, a racially and culturally distinct people, the island of Hokkaido did not have large numbers of Japanese settlers until the nineteenth century.

(A) a racially and culturally distinct people.

B is incorrect because who incorrectly modifies the country. It is the PEOPLE of the country who are x and y....
(B) who are a people that are distinct by race and culture

C, D and E are incorrect because the people are not distinct, its the race and culture of the people that are distinct.
(C) a people who are distinctive in their race and culture
(D) a distinct people by race and culture
(E) a distinctive people racially and culturally

Originally inhabited by the Ainu, a racially and culturally distinct people, the island of Hokkaido did not have large numbers of Japanese settlers until the nineteenth century.

Solution:

(A) a racially and culturally distinct people.

Racially and culturally affect the adjective "distinct", seems good.

(B) who are a people that are distinct by race and culture

Phrase "a people that are" mixes singular with plural forms. Furthermore, "by race and culture" sounds like they are distinct because of race and culture, this is not the meaning that we want to convey.

(C) a people who are distinctive in their race and culture

Phrase "a people who are", mixes singular with plural forms, must be a people "is". Furthermore, distinctive may mean distinguishing, is better to use distinct.

(D) a distinct people by race and culture

Same as (B), phrase "by race and culture" sounds like they are distinct because of race and culture, this is not the meaning that we want to convey.

(E) a distinctive people racially and culturally

Same as (C), distinctive may mean distinguishing, is better to use distinct.

D is incorrect because the modifiers 'race & culture' are far away from distinct! Is it the reason?

Posted from my mobile device

D is incorrect because "a distinct people"
"Ainu" is not a specific person thus a distinct people is wrong.
It is group of distinct people.

KarishmaB AndrewN

Hi,

Please can you help to explain how Option A is different from Option D. In both the options "distinct" is modifying "people" and "race" & "culture" seem to modify "distinct"

Thanks

Hello Nonie94,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your query, Option D is inferior to Option A because it is less direct and slightly wordier.

We hope this helps.
All the best!
Experts' Global Team

You raise an interesting question about grammar and meaning, Nonie94. The best answer I can think to give is that by is used as a preposition, even in a case in which it offers an explanation: He won the race by a nose. The prepositional phrase is used to explain how he won the race. In the sentence at hand, in answer choice (D), by race and culture is meant to explain how the Ainu are a distinct people. This is a bit different from the original sentence, in which the adverbs racially and culturally express the degree to which the Ainu are a distinct people, since the adverbs modify the adjective distinct.

You can also approach the question from a diction standpoint. Ignore one descriptor and compare (A) and (D) side by side:

(A) a racially distinct people
(D) a distinct people by race

There is no case that can be made against the clear and direct nature of the former, whereas the latter is less precise, as explained earlier, and delays the vital expression of meaning.

When I came across the question for the first time, I spent about a minute and a half mulling over the difference between (A) and (D). I ultimately settled on the correct option because I could not find a reason to dispute it, while I had doubts concerning the latter. (I do not eliminate based on doubts, but I may disfavor certain options.)

Thank you for thinking to ask.

- Andrew

Studiers, pay attention. This:

(I do not eliminate based on doubts, but I may disfavor certain options.)

--is some really good and important SC advice.

Thank you for the kind words, ReedArnoldMPREP. They mean a lot, coming from you. That is, I enjoy coming across your posts and, at times, seeing matters from a different angle. To know that we may approach SC questions with a similar method gives me some comfort. On a related note, I enjoyed this recent and short post by GMATNinjaTwo on another tough SC question. (If a person with a verified 51 in Verbal can comment on not being comfortable with everything the test can throw at you, then I feel better, once again, about my elimination and selection methods.)

Cheers,
Andrew

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